It’s been three long weeks since you all heard a peep out of me, but I’ve been insanely busy lately; so much so that I haven’t been able to properly sit down at my laptop and type up anything. Sorry about that! Here’s the long-awaited review of Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer. I finished it a while ago but never found the time to review it—I hope you enjoy it!

Author: Rick Riordan

Publishing Company: Disney Hyperion

Release Year: 2015

Genre(s): YA, Contemporary Fiction, Mythology

Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Book One)

My Summary

Magnus Chase is… an unconventional teen. He’s lived on the streets of Boston after his mother was killed a few years ago. His life is certainly not normal—but even he didn’t expect to be told by his estranged uncle that he’s the son of a Norse god and fight a demon with an ancient sword he retrieves from the bottom of the Charles River. Oh, and he definitely didn’t expect to die…

And yet, it’s the furthest thing possible from the end of his adventure. After landing in an afterlife for the brave who are being trained to fight in Ragnarok, the battle of the apocalypse, Magnus realizes that everything in his life has changed. Teaming up with a teenage warrior, a fashionable dwarf, and an elf who is learning magic, Magnus must find out his family history, what to do with the ancient Sword of Summer, and how to stop the Seven Worlds—especially Midgard, the human world—from being taken over by evil forces while trying to stay alive at the same time.

My Thoughts

Rick Riordan is back at it again! (By that I mean that he is writing books that cause me to go completely fangirl-crazy over and hand my money over to bookstores without a single coherent thought.) 🙂 In all seriousness, however, this book was so good! Ugh, where to begin…?

Since I’m not sure how else to review this book without going on a long rant, I’ve organized everything into bullet points.

+ First of all: Norse mythology! It’s pretty new for me—I’m a nut for Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology but I’ve never really delved into the world of Odin, Thor, and the others. Can’t wait to learn more!

+ When I was first starting the book, I’ll admit that I was rather scared that Magnus Chase would be a clone of Percy Jackson, personality-wise. Luckily, he’s his own person—and that definitely pleases me. 🙂 However, it does seem that the two have the same snarky, witty sense of humour. While I did quite enjoy Magnus’s amusing observations of the situations he lands in and the people he meets, it was a bit too reminiscent of the Percy Jackson novels.

+ The cast of The Sword of Summer is very diverse, and I think that’s wonderful! 🙂 You’ve got Magnus, who happened to be homeless, Blitzen, an African-American dwarf, Hearthstone, a deaf elf, Samirah Al-Abbas, a Muslim teen girl who just happens to be a warrior for the Norse gods, and a ton of great characters. It makes me happy to see minorities represented in literature.

+ The plot was compelling and exciting for the most part. The ending dragged a bit and was rather predictable, to be honest, but overall, it was an action-packed and suspenseful novel. I still found myself liking Riordan’s previous books better, but I still really enjoyed The Sword of Summer, which was a relief.

+ I loved the chapter names! Rick Riordan is hilarious. Some of them included:

“13. Phil the Potato Meets His Doom”

“20. Come to the Dark Side. We Have Pop-Tarts”

“23. I Recycle Myself”

“39. Freya is Pretty! She Has Cats!”

“48. Hearthstone Passes Out Even More than Jason Grace (Though I Have No Idea Who That Is)”

The one above is my favourite— a sneaky reference to the Heroes of Olympus series. 😉 And finally…

“53. How to Kill Giants Politely”

+ All in all, a must read for Rick Riordan fans, mythology lovers, and anyone interested in an exhilarating, well-written novel that combines the modern and ancient worlds. 🙂

Well, that’s it for today, everyone! See you soon, and happy November! (How are we almost at the end of the year?)

Remember this post? The one about Rick Riordan’s new mythology series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard? Well, the first book has officially come out! 😀 But that’s not all…

Over the past week, Rick Riordan has been on his “Norse American Tour” (what a great pun!) he’s visited five out of eight major American cities so far. This morning, I was able to be at the event in Miami, which I thought was so cool, and it was absolutely AMAZING! I’m so glad I got to go! 😛

So, the first thing I’ll say is that it was crowded. Fans of all ages were excitedly chattering away, showing off their Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter t-shirts, and reading The Sword of Summer while standing in a long, winding queue. I grabbed a copy of the novel and immediately joined the line, bursting with eagerness to start reading it. Oh, and did I mention that all of the books were signed? 😀

Magnus Chase meets my owl necklace/blog logo.Agh, what a pretty cover!I have a book with Rick Riordan’s signature in it, therefore I have lived life.

Finally, after waiting for a bit, we were ushered to our seats inside the auditorium and we were given foam shields! How cool is that? Foam shields!

My precious foam shield.

And the moment we were all waiting for arrived: Rick Riordan walked up onto the stage! He is such a great guy—so funny, and friendly, and basically everything you’d want the author of some of your favourite books to be. You can definitely tell he’s the one behind the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus.

Highlights of Riordan’s Speech/Presentation/Stand-up Show

Actually getting to see Rick Riordan in the flesh

Listening to him talk about his childhood and how he was a reluctant reader (How things have changed!)

Laughing at awkward photos of him with long hair from middle school and high school

Rick Riordan calling his wife Becky his “Annabeth” *swoon*

Seeing the covers of The Lightening Thief from different countries (Look up the German one—it’s hilarious!)

Learning about the inspiration and the writing process behind his books

Him telling us that Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is a trilogy and the next book will be coming out around this time next year!

Him telling us that he’s coming out with ANOTHER NEW SERIES IN 2016 called the Trials of Apollo and that the characters from Heroes of Olympus WILL BE IN IT *hyperventilates*

Finding out that he hasn’t ever watched the Percy Jackson movies and doesn’t want to

Basically everything

Rick Riordan speaking to a roomful of fans.Two Rick Riordans at once! Which one is the real one?After the presentation ended.

It was such a wonderful experience; I would love to be a part of something like this again. And I’m so pumped up about the Trials of Apollo series that will be coming out in May of next year! If you’re anywhere near Houston, Phoenix, or St. Louis in the next three days, I would seriously recommend that you grab tickets as soon as possible and attend—it’s so worth it!

Okay, back to reading The Sword of Summer now! I’ll be up with a review as soon as possible!

Hello everyone! I’ve been a little absent lately, but it’s been nice to let my blog just sit there for a bit. Anyway, I’m back now with the first Book Chat after a while!

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but I’m a pretty big fan of Rick Riordan. Aren’t we all? 😉 I loved his series Percy Jackson and the Olympians; I loved his series The Heroes of Olympus. However, his final book in The Heroes of Olympus came out last year in October, and we had to bid good-bye to our favorite Greek gang. 😥 (Well, we can reread the books, but it certainly won’t be the same.) However… Rick Riordan will be releasing a NEW book on October 6th, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer! And this time, it will be about Norse mythology! How cool!

Here’s the official synopsis:

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he’s tracked down by an uncle he’s never met-a man his mother claimed was dangerous. His uncle tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

A preview of the book that I got at my bookstore!

Doesn’t that sound thrilling? Also, hmm… Does the last name “Chase” seem familiar? 😉

I actually was at my local bookstore a few weeks ago when I noticed that they had a pamphlet with a preview of the book: the first three chapters! I immediately snatched it up and read at least four times. I can assure you that it is just as fast-paced and exciting as the Percy Jackson books!

I can’t wait until it comes out! I’ve always been fascinated with mythology, even before reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus, and The Sword of Summer will be delving into a whole new world of mythology. Are you anticipating the Magnus Chase books as well? What other books are you waiting for to come out? I’d love some recommendations! 🙂